Handwheel wrench



June 29, 1954 w, K BERGMAN 2,682,189

HANDWHEEL WRENCH Filed July 17, 1950 INVENTOR Wayne K. Bergman ATTORNEY Patented June 29, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

1 This invention relates particularly to wrenches used to facilitate the rotating of difficult or stubborn turning hand wheels, and in general consists of a handle terminating at one end in a hook jaw for encircling and bearing against the inside periphery of a hand wheel or the like and an open jaw disposed to bear against the outer surface of the wheel handle when force is applied to the handle in the direction of the open jaw.

The need for a safe and satisfactory hand wheel turning aid has been long felt. Especially is this true in industries such as the petroleum industry which requires the manual turning of large hand wheels, for frequently such hand wheels are stubborn and impossible to rotate by hand and, hence, require the use of a turning aid. The tools generally employed as turning aids are for the most part makeshift, impractical and, which is more important, unsafe. Because of their great propensity for slipping at the time when the greatest force is being applied, the ordinary prongs of the makeshift turning aid are dangerous both to the user and to his equipment. Also the ordinary turning aid is not readily adaptable to a wide range of wheel types, shapes and diameters and, hence, require the costly construction or purchasing of many different size wrenches.

An object of the present invention is to produce a hand wheel turning aid, hereinafter, called a hand wheel wrench, that not only is unsurpassed for turning efficiently but one that is easy to construct and handle and can be constructed to be both slipproof and sparkproof, thus making it safe for use in any location.

Another object is to produce a hand wheel wrench that can be instantly hooked in its operating position on a wide variety of hand wheel types, shapes and sizes and still is designed for easy carrying and handling.

A further object is to produce a hand wheel wrench which will grasp only the wheel portion of the hand wheel and is not dependent upon the size or location of the spokes of the hand wheel for its utility.

A still further object is to produce a hand wheel Wrench that once hooked and in its operating position will not easily fall from the hand wheel should the wrench handle be suddenly released by accident or for cause, this feature also permitting the wrench to be hung either momentarily or permanently on the hand wheel as the occasion demands.

These and other objects will become apparent as the details of the invention are hereinafter more fully disclosed.

For purposes of illustration but not of limitation, the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification show that:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the head of the hand wheel wrench and its normal operating position on a hand wheel,

Figure 2 is a left side elevation showing the wrench in its normal operating position on a hand wheel,

Figure 3 is a right side elevation of the wrench, and

Figure 4 is a perspective of the preferred hand wheel wrench in its entirety.

Referring again to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, it can 5 be seen that one embodiment of the preferred hand wheel wrench consists essentially of an elongated handle 4 integral with and terminating at its lower end portion in the essential hook jaw l and the open jaw 2; the function of these essential parts being that the hook jaw l encircles and bears against the inside periphery of the hand wheel 5, while the open jaw 2 contacts and exerts bearing pressure against the outside of the same handle wheel 5 when a turning force is applied to handle 4 in the direction of open jaw 2.

In more detail it can be seen that the preferred hook jaw I has its interior or under surface cut away so that when the wrench is in place only a small area of the bottom periphery of the hand wheel 5 is not surrounded by a portion of the hook jaw I and the actual bearing area 3 is Vd for better centering and vertically fluted to form teeth for surer gripping. It should be noticed that the actual bearing area 3 for the hook jrjaws l is located near the end portion of the hook jaw, this being to permit the bearing pressure to be exerted on the inside periphery of the hand wheel 5 rather than at some other point. Also in order to permit easier adjustment and more ready adaptability to a wider range of hand wheel shapes and sizes, the preferred hook jaw surface should taper back from the inside edge portions, thus having the hook jaw opening greater on the outside edge portion than on the inside.

As seen in Figure l the bearing surface 3 of the hook jaw I is disposed to the side of and at an angle X which is substantially less than right angles with the longitudinal center line of the handle; and the bearing surface 3' of the base jaw 2 being disposed to the opposite side of the handle from the hook jaw and at an angle Y substantially greater than right angles with the longitudinal center line of the handle. The actual bearing surface 3 of the open jaw 2 is preferentially Vd and vertically fluted to form teeth as shown for better centering and surer gripping of the hand wheel 5. While the bearing surfaces 3 and 3 are necessarily located to fall on opposite sides of a wheel handle and at two different circumferential cross sections thereon, still the horizontal plane through the center of both bearing surfaces would be common to both. Thus when force is applied to the handle 4 in the direction of open jaw 2, the bearing surface 3 of the hook jaw presses against the inside periphery of the hand wheel and the bearing surface 3 of the open jaw presses against the outside periphery of the hand wheel causing a fulcrum effect and exerting a turning moment on the hand wheel.

As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 and to further clarify the present invention, the hooked jaw I has its hook for encircling and bearing particularly on the underside of the inside periphery of a hand wheel to prevent the wrench from slipping off. Without this hook on its end portion, a wrench could always slip ofi a wheel, as there is no under bearing surface pressure to hold it on the wheel.

Partly because of the hooked bearing portion 3 to prevent slipping and partly because of the angular disposition of the base jaw 2, an angular guide entrance for hooking the wrench on to the wheel must be provided. In the present instance, this guide entrance is shaped in the form of a helix curve with the outside opening of the hook jaw I tapering or curving inwardly so that the inside opening is substantially smaller. Referring to Figure 3, the outside edge II of the hook jaw l faces the reader. It is the intent of the applicant that this outside edge represent a helix curve from a to b. That is to say that the radius of curvature of the outside edge diminishes from a to b. Although the edge from b to d is not shown as a curve, that portion of the hook jaw is Vd rather than curved to permit bearing contact with the hand wheel at two points instead of a plurality of points as would be the case with a completely curved section. The inside edge of the hook jaw II' also has diminishing radius of curvature from a to b. As can be seen from the drawing, the inside edge I I defines a smaller opening than the outside edge II. This also means that there must be a gradual taper from the outside edge H to the inside edge I I' and as shown in the drawings, this taper is most predominant at both ends of the guide entrance (1 to a and d to d with taper practically disappearing at b to b.

This helix type curvature is imperative to the functioning of this wrench because it provides an enlarged opening on the outside for easy mounting of a wrench over a hand wheel when putting it on and for having the bearing surfaces of the wrench more nearly correspond to the curvature of the hand wheel. While the large opening on the outside is required for easy mounting, the smaller inside opening permits a snugger locking against the wheel when in position. The procedure for putting the wrench on a wheel is to lay the wrench on the wheel with the outside of the hook jaw I against the wheel and then roll the wrench on to the wheel by twisting the base jaw portion 2 toward the wheel. The helix curved guide entrance on the hook jaw I will easily and smoothly move the wrench into operating position.

By having the hook jaw opening curve outwardly, the bearing surface on the hook jaw also will more nearly conform to the curvature of a hand wheel and permit greater bearing surface on the inside periphery of the hand wheel. The hook jaw I and the base jaw 2 are located on opposite sides of the handle, and the planes of each of these jaws are at angles greater than right angles with the center line of the handle, the base jaw only slightly greater than right angles and the hook jaw substantially greater than right angles with the handle. This angular disposition of the two jaws is to provide the maximum fulcrum eliect when the wrench is in its operating position, for then the contour of the hand wheel will be more nearly compensated for, and the handle will be more nearly in line with the radius of the hand wheel instead of tangent thereto as in the case of most other wrenches.

For improvement purposes notice is drawn to the cut away separating flute 6 which is depressed and separates hook jaw I from open jaw 2. This is to allow easier adjustment for larger hand wheels and to separate the action of the two jaws. Also the general design of the hand wheel wrench as shown especially in Figure 4 is recommended as the blending and fiuting of the head and handle is designed to give maximum mechanical efficiency while at the same time keeping the wrench conveniently shaped and weighted for quicker adjustment and easier handling.

There is no limitation on the size of the wrench constructed as its function can be accomplished with small or large ones. However, due to the characteristic of the design as shown, and especially the Vd bearing surfaces for centering smaller diameter hand wheels, the larger type wrench would accommodate almost an unlimited variety of smaller wheels and, hence, is recommended. The thickness of the largest normally used hand wheel rim is estimated to be about 1 /4 inches and, hence, it is recommended for general use that the hook jaw opening be made to accommodate that size rim.

It should be pointed out that the wrench described can be manufactured to meet almost any hand wheel turning problem. If non-sparking is required it can be constructed of aluminum or brass or other non-ferrous material and can be used around explosive areas. It can be constructed of the lighter metals if weight is a problem in carrying up and down steps and especially ladders. Also the wrench as shown lends itself admirably to easy manufacturing as it can be forged, sand casted or die casted thus making it more economical to make and cheaper to buy.

From the described invention, it is manifest that what has been described as a hand wheel wrench is a new, improved and much needed invention in the field of hand wheel turning aids. It also is to be understood that only the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been discussed and that many minor changes and alterations may be made to fall within the scope of the appended claim.

What is now claimed is:

A hand wheel wrench comprising an elongated handle, a hook jaw and a base jaw integral with one end portion of said handle, said base jaw being disposed to the side of and at an angle substantially greater than right angles with the longitudinal center line of said handle and said hook jaw being disposed to the opposite side of said handle from said base jaw with the bearing surface of the hook jaw at an angle substantially less than right angles with the center line of said handle, said hook jaw being provided with a hooked end portion for encircling and bearing against the inside periphery'of a hand wheel, and

said hooked portion being formed to particularly bear against the bottom side of a hand wheel to prevent upward disengagement, said hook jaw also being provided with a guide entrance shaped in the form of a helix curve with diminishing radius of curvature from the handle end of the guide entrance toward the bearing surface, and having the surface of the guide entrance tapering inwardly so that the outside opening of said guide entrance is substantially larger than the inside opening and said bearing surface on said hooked end portion being tapered inwardly to more nearly conform to the contour of hand wheels, said bearing surfaces on both base jaw and hook jaw being disposed to bear against opposite sides of a hand wheel and on diiferent cross sections thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Numbe Name Date 10 676,825 Sullivan June 18, 1901 1,058,450 McGowan Apr. 8, 1913 2,079,491 Cooke May 4, 1937 2,539,262 Moore Jan, 23, 1951 

